Cryptocurrency is “the only stable thing” right now as volatility and economic uncertainty continue to roil markets, according to the head of crypto exchange Binance.
Speaking at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon on Tuesday evening, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao doubled down on his bullish views on crypto—despite major coins losing huge chunks of their value in 2022.
“Crypto is probably the only stable thing in this very dynamic environment,” he said. “Yes, prices are volatile, but if you look at the technology, if you look at the fundamentals of cryptocurrencies—limited supply, nothing’s changed. It’s the most stable thing, technology-wise, in this whole turmoil situation.”
Bitcoin has become less volatile in recent months, hovering around the $20,000 mark. However, that’s still a far cry from last November, when it reached an all-time high of $69,000. So far this year, the cryptocurrency has lost more than half of its value, while other popular alternatives like Ethereum and Binance Coin have also suffered major losses.
The cryptocurrency revaluation, widely referred to as the “crypto winter,” has wiped $2 trillion off of the market this year, and sparked a major pullback from the venture capital investors who were pouring money into startups in the sector last year.
TerraUSD, a popular stablecoin, sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency market in May when it collapsed not long after surpassing an $18 billion market capitalization. Its spectacular downfall prompted concerns about other stablecoins, and crypto in general.
However, CZ argued on Tuesday that fluctuating cryptocurrency prices were being driven by the macroeconomic environment—and that in fact it is “the world [that] is not stable,” as opposed to cryptocurrencies themselves.
Uncertainty over the state of the global economy have sent both traditional and crypto markets on a wild ride this year. Tech stocks have been hit particularly hard, with Amazon dipping below its $1 trillion valuation for the first time this week since reaching the milestone.
Binance was among the companies that backed Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter, providing $500 million to help the Tesla CEO close the deal.
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